Classes to get seniors on the web are a mouse click away

Eighty-one-year-old Barbara Davis usually needs a magnifying glass to read the computer screen. But that doesn’t stop her from running a successful eBay business out of the dining room of her Mesa home.

“I self-educated myself on eBay,” Davis says. “The first time I did it, I did it wrong. But slowly, I began to understand the terminology and things.”

Today she supplements her Social Security income with her eBay store called Coco’s Corner, named after her late cat, Coco. She’s even become an eBay Powerseller for having 100 percent positive customer feedback and consistently selling a high volume of merchandise, including magnetic mattress pads, pillows and prom dresses.

“It’s a wonderful field that’s very competitive,” says Davis, who is looking for new products to expand her business. “I have to stay up-to-date.”

Seniors, who grew up in the age of handwritten letters and typewriters, have often been left out of the Internet revolution. But Davis is one of a growing number of the East Valley’s eldest who are breaking down stereotypes and becoming technologically savvy.

Grandparents are sick of being surpassed technologically by their grandchildren, says Ralph Woodbridge, 78, a volunteer computer instructor for Scottsdale’s senior centers.

“When the kids come at Christmastime, the first thing they say is, ‘Grandma, Grandpa, where’s the computer?’ ” he says. “While the grandparents used to say, ‘What computer?’ now they say, ‘It’s right over there, go check your e-mail.’ ”

People ages 65 and older are the fastest-growing age group to go online, surging 25 percent a year to 9.6 million in 2003, according to Nielsen NetRatings.

And in the East Valley a growing number of computer classes aimed at seniors are giving older adults an opportunity to learn to use computers.

LATE-LIFE LEARNERS

Six seniors stare intently at the computer screens at Dennis J. Cahill Senior Center in Tempe as their instructor, Dick Azzi, quizzes them on computer basics.

“How many windows can you have open at one time?” asks the 65-year-old Tempe man.

“Three,” one student answers.

“Two,” another calls out.

Azzi shakes his head no.

Gizella Kaman, 91, quietly raises her hand and says, “As many as you want.”

“That’s right,” Azzi says. “You can have as many windows open as you want.”

As a retired computer programmer, Azzi learned how to work a computer before the Internet existed. And for the past two years, he has used that knowledge to help teach his peers as a volunteer computer instructor.

“A lot of my students are so scared of computers. They tell me, ‘Well, I’ve got one at home, but I’m scared to hook it up,’ ” says Azzi, who designs Web sites in his spare time. “I just keep it real simple and try to make it fun. Usually, they really enjoy it.”

Seniors take classes because they want to learn to surf the Internet or stay in touch with their family and friends, he says. Kaman began taking classes so she could e-mail her granddaughter, who lives halfway around the world.

“My granddaughter was sent to Japan to work for three years, so I had to learn to email,” she says. “She sends lots of e-mail, lots of photos and lots of letters. It’s a great way to stay close to her.”

DIGITALLY DIVIDED

Although more seniors are becoming comfortable with computers, most are still disconnected, says Elesa Livingston of SeniorNet, a California company that provides computer training to older adults.

“There is still that intimidation,” Livingston says. “Due to their age and not growing up in the time frame of the digital revolution, many seniors were just never educated properly on these new technologies.”

Nearly 75 percent of the American population is online, but less than a third of those over age 70 have used the Internet, according to a recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Regular computer users like Davis have friends who shy away from the computer.

“They’re afraid of it, it seems like,” she says. “I always advise my friends go take the classes. Find out how comfortable you are. And if you can afford it, get yourself a computer because they’re fun.”